Hills Alive

Worship.

More than a song.

More than a style of music.

Living worship.

Sharing

and

giving

what we have to give.

Soli Deo Gloria.

For His glory alone.

{Flatfoot 56 . . . Celtic flavored punk/rock}

100 plus degrees in Memorial Park.

Thousands of people.

Different styles.



{Couldn't understand much of what they sang,
but it was fun and this guy was a happy spirit.}



Different heritage.

Different backgrounds.

Different gifts.

But the same

Lord.

The same

God.

The same

Spirit.

{Sarah Little Cloud
shared shade with me and made these for me.}

The same

Savior.

Jesus

Christ.

The one we all need.

Because each one

comes to a point to realize

we are not strong enough

on our own.

But that

I

can

do

all

things

{Shaw Cousins with Matthew West}

through

Christ

because

He

gives

me

strength.

*

{Third Day
~ my niece said
lead singer Mac Powell
looks like Jesus in skinny jeans.}

I am not strong enough

or done enough

or brave enough

or physically fit enough

or rich enough

or good enough,

but He is

and He gives me

what He has

to complete me.

To make up where I lack.

To make me

enough.

*

Prairie's God-Beauty

I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart

I will enter His courts with praise

I will say this is the day that the Lord has made . . .

We sing this regularly at our little country church

on the wide and windy prairie of western South Dakota.

In my mind as I sang,

for so long it was like a declaration of what I would do

as I enter His gates and His courts.

But now as I list 1000 gifts

and think about how photography

has ushered my heart so often to a place of

worship

I understand

that

thanksgiving

and praise

is the key

to His gates

is the way

into His courts

it is the path

that takes me

into

His presence . . .

Thanksgiving

on this prairie that some have

branded

God-forsaken . . .

but that I have seen

God-beauty

in

wind-swept

and even

wind-beaten . . .

there is beauty

if I choose

to take the lead from my child

and really

see

into

His

presence.

*

*

Joining today

Jen hosts this gathering of bloggers

a sisterhood to glorify God.

Recently, she ordered a mixed media piece from me.

It was my honor to send it from

South Dakota

to

Texas.

She featured it here:  What Do You Believe?

And I featured it here:  Lemonade Stands.

It feels like a part of my heart is in her home now

. . .

so

fulfilling.

*Photos & text property of Jodene (Jodi) Shaw copyright 2011*

My Whole Heart

"We pour out our misery, God just hears a melody . . . "

Better Than a Hallelujah ~ Amy Grant.

This is me.

I give You

what I have to give.

My whole heart.

My searching.

My anger.

My desperation.

My complaints.

My crying.

My distress.

My shame.

My unforgiveness.

My anxieties.

My cares.

My worries.

My grief.

My doubt.

My brokenness.

My trust.

My joy.

My hope.

My boldness.

My timidity.

My faith.

My belief.

My love. 

My praise.

My song.

My victory.

My triumph.

My milestone.

My celebration.

My confidence.

My courage.

My worship.

My authentic heart.

Right now.

All of it.

Here it is.

This is me.

*

*

I am getting ready to start

Stepping Up: A Journey Through the Psalms of Ascent

by Beth Moore

with a group of ladies.

I picked up my book today.

You know I couldn't resist reading the first day!

To close the day's lesson,

Beth suggested that we could worship

in our emotions instead of pushing them aside to worship.

Then she suggested thumbing through the Psalms

and writing down some of the expressive words.

As I thumbed through,

the most common words I seemed to see were

"cry out".

It reminded me of Amy Grant's song quoted above and here:

"God loves a lullaby in a mother's tears in the dead of night

better than hallelujah sometimes . . .

God loves a drunkard's cry, a soldier's plea not to let him die

 . . . beautiful, the mess we are, the honest cries

of breaking hearts

are better than a hallelujah."

Which inspired me to write "my whole heart".

He wants our whole heart . . . all of it.

Not just the good image stuff.

All of it.

Living sacrifice.

*

Sharing some of my latest art.

A little hand-sized commissioned piece

with the theme verse from the women's retreat.

A surprise piece that I will unveil soon . . .

I just keep getting new ideas for it.

And the shadow box that I finished a month ago

for my sweet friend

to remember God's miracles.

*

*

Copyright 2011 ~ Jodene (Jodi) Shaw.